Domains & Iconography
Domains: mummification, necropolis, protection
Iconography: jackal, black canine, embalming table
Names & Pronunciation
The god known in Greek as 'Anubis' corresponds to an Egyptian name written Inpw, conventionally vocalized 'Anpu' in Egyptology. Because Egyptian writing typically omits vowels, these are scholarly reconstructions, but the contrast between Greek 'Anubis' (uh‑NEW‑bis) and Egyptian 'Anpu' (AHN‑poo) is standard in museum and academic usage. The epithet 'Foremost of the Westerners' (tpy ḏw imy‑wnt) associates him with the realm of the west, the land of the dead where the sun sets and burials occur.
Domains & Functions
Anubis presides over mummification, necropolis protection, and critical stages of judgment. As embalmer, he tends the corpse, wrapping and anointing to preserve the body’s integrity so that the person may become effective (akh). As psychopomp, he guides the deceased through liminal transitions and oversees the weighing of the heart against the feather of Ma’at, ensuring correct procedure and fairness. In vignettes he steadies or adjusts the scales while Thoth records the verdict, and Osiris presides beyond as lord of the tribunal.
The jackal/canine imagery, dark in hue, reflects Egypt’s observation of desert‑edge scavengers near cemeteries. Rather than a threat, this behavior is ritually inverted: the canine becomes guardian and protector of tomb precincts, patrolling thresholds between cultivated land and arid necropolis. Standards bearing the jackal figure mark processional routes and cemeteries, signaling sacred jurisdiction and protection.
Myth & Ritual
In Osirian narratives, Anubis plays a decisive ritual role: he assists Isis and Nephthys in recovering and preparing Osiris, performing embalming and funerary rites that inaugurate the pattern for all subsequent burials. Funerary liturgy and tomb scenes frequently invoke Anubis as 'he who is upon his mountain,' a guardian at the necropolis ridge overseeing entry and securing offerings. Priestly manuals (later summarized by Greek authors) detail an embalmer‑priest (often wearing a jackal mask) who enacts Anubis’ role, aligning craft, ritual knowledge, and divine precedent.
Protective magic associates Anubis with amulets, shrouds, and standards placed in tombs. Coffin Texts and Books of the Dead include spells appealing to Anubis for safe passage and bodily integrity. In many compositions, he collaborates with other deities—Wepwawet (another jackal‑standard deity) opens pathways, while Anubis guards and performs technical rites—expressing an Egyptian appreciation for specialized yet cooperative divine functions.
Iconography
Anubis appears as a recumbent or standing black canine—often glossed as 'jackal' though precise species is debated—or as a man with a jackal head. The black color symbolizes both the resin‑dark hue of embalmed flesh and the fertile silt of the Nile, implying regeneration. Scenes of the embalming table are canonical: the deceased lies upon a lion‑bed while Anubis tends to the body. On judgment vignettes (Papyrus of Ani and others), he brings the deceased to the scales, checks the balance, and presents the vindicated to Osiris.
Cult & Places
While Anubis participates across Egypt in funerary contexts, some cemeteries and towns are strongly associated with him—Saqqara, Theban west bank, and Asyut (associated also with Wepwawet). Household devotions and amulets invoke his safeguarding presence; on a state level, necropolis priests maintained cultic service and processions in his name. Over time, aspects of funerary lordship centralized in Osiris, but Anubis’ technical and protective domains remained indispensable in practice and representation.
Theology & Relations
Egyptian religion describes a complementarity: Osiris governs as sovereign in the Duat; Ra renews in the nightly passage; Anubis ensures transitions are correctly performed. This tripartite coordination—sovereignty, renewal, and technical guardianship—helps explain Anubis’ ubiquity on coffins and papyri. He is not a distant judge but a hands‑on protector and ritual technician whose presence guarantees that embodied life can be transfigured rather than dissolved.
Legacy
From Old Kingdom mastabas to Roman‑period papyri, Anubis persists as a recognizable protector. Modern collections preserve shrouds, masks, statuettes, and papyrus vignettes where his role is legible even when texts vary. For visitors and readers today, Anubis’ icon—the black canine at the tomb—encapsulates an Egyptian truth: care for the dead is a precise, sacred craft that secures ethical passage and continued efficacy in a cosmos ordered by Ma’at.